Her gaze slid over him and she frowned at the sight of his booted feet crossed at the ankles on the bed. "Are ye no goin' to remove yer boots?"
"I am too tired," Blake said, then popped one eye open, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he said, "You are wearing me out with your demands, wife."
"Wearin' ye out?" she exclaimed with disbelief. He was just as demanding as she.
"Aye. Wearing me out," was all Blake said.
Scowling, Seonaid sat where she was for a minute, then stood and moved around the bed to his side. Pausing there, she set to work on removing his boots.
"What are you doing?" Blake half sat up in his surprise.
"As yer so exhausted," she said dryly. "I'm helpin' ye with yer boots. Iliana would have fits did ye ruin her fine linens with 'em."
Blake hesitated, then flopped back on the bed, leaving her to it. She dragged the first boot off and unintentionally ran her hand over the bottom of his foot, which made him jerk upright on the bed and tug his foot from her hand. When Seonaid glanced up at his face with surprise, he relaxed back on the bed, but she noticed he kept his knee bent and his foot pressed flat to the bed surface, a good distance from her hands.
Considering this, she set to work on his other boot. This time when she dragged the boot off, she deliberately ran her hand over the bottom of his foot, and again Blake jerked and dragged his foot out of her grasp.
"Yer ticklish," Seonaid said with disbelief.
"Nay," Blake denied, but there was such panic in his eyes as he denied it, she knew he was lying.
"Nay?" she asked, an evil grin claiming her lips.
"Seonaid," he growled in warning, but she was already climbing onto the bed to reach his feet. He tried to swivel them out of her grasp, but Seonaid was quicker and managed to catch one. She immediately set to tickling the bottom of the foot she held, amazed when Blake began to laugh and struggle wildly. Seonaid held on like the claw of a lobster, locking her arm around his lower leg and holding him by the ankle with that hand, leaving her other one free to torment him. It was like trying to break a wild horse; he was bucking and jerking and thrashing about wildly. When that did not work, Blake had the presence of mind to sit up and grab her arms from behind. It turned into a wrestling match that had them laughing and rolling on the bed until Blake managed to trap her beneath him on her back, her arms over her head.
Breathless and panting, they grinned at each other; then Blake lowered his mouth to claim hers and they began a wrestling of a different nature.
"Sherwell!"
Seonaid blinked her eyes open and sat upright on the bed as the chamber door slammed open. She gaped at her brother with confusion. It was daylight, probably nearly noon, she realized. She and Blake had fallen asleep after their lovemaking and slept the morning away. And something had obviously happened while they slept, something that had her brother looking like thunder as he dragged Little George into the room, shoving the huge man about as if he were a pup.
"Duncan!" Aeldra rushed into the room on their heels. The petite blonde was flushed and disheveled; she was also angrier than Seonaid had seen her in a long time. "Let George go! Ye have no right!"
"Close yer mouth, Aeldra," Duncan snapped, shaking away the hand she had placed on his arm. "I have every right. Yer me cousin and me responsibility. Doubly so now that Allistair is gone." Turning back to the bed, he snapped, "God damn me, Sherwell. Wake up!"
"I am awake," Blake muttered, sitting up to survey Duncan with a frown. "What is going on?"
"I'll tell ye what's goin' on, I caught yer man on me cousin," Duncan announced grimly, releasing the man, but not before he'd shoved him toward the bed.
Blake looked nonplussed by this announcement, then glanced from Aeldra to Little George to Seonaid. Aeldra blushed and avoided his gaze and Little George stared at the floor looking rather chagrined. Seonaid was the only one to meet his eyes, but she did so with an expression as bewildered as his own.
"Duncan--" she began tentatively, only to have him turn his wrath on her.
"Not a word, Seonaid. This is men's business." His eyes turned back to Blake. "Get dressed and come below. We've some sorting to do."
Turning on his heel, Duncan stomped from the room, pulling the door closed with a slam.
The foursome left in the chamber were silent for a moment; then Blake tossed the furs aside and grabbed up his discarded tunic as he said, "You had best tell me what happened."
"Duncan caught us indulgin' in some houghmagandie," Aeldra said defiantly. "And now he's up in arms."
"Houghma--" Blake had just bent to pleat his plaid, but paused at the blonde's words to glance to Seonaid, who was gaping at her cousin. "Seonaid?"
She closed her mouth and glanced at her husband, then cleared her throat and said, "They were ... er ... doing what we were doing," she finished helplessly.
"Sleeping?" he asked dryly.
"Nay, the part before the sleepin'," Seonaid said.
"Ah." Blake turned his attention back to his plaid.
"I am marrying her," Little George said grimly as Blake finished the pleating and donned the plaid.
"Is that what you want?" he asked as he stood, fully dressed.
Little George nodded abruptly.
"Well, we had best go tell Duncan and smooth things over then," Blake said and led his first out of the room.
Seonaid stared after them in amazement. Neither man had even bothered to ask Aeldra if she agreed to the marriage. And it apparently hadn't occurred to them to include the women in the discussion about to take place.
Muttering with exasperation, she tossed the linens aside and slid from the bed to begin dressing. "So?"
Aeldra glanced at her with a start. "So? What?"
"How was it?" Seonaid asked, amusement pulling at her lips. It was the right question, Aeldra's tension gave way to a grin.
"It was wonderful," she said enthusiastically, then added less cheerfully, "until Duncan caught us."
Seonaid nodded. "And do ye want to marry Little George?"
Aeldra smiled. "He'd already asked me 'ere we--" She paused and shrugged. "And I had already said aye."
"Good," Seonaid said with a sigh. At least she wasn't going to have to fight to keep her cousin from a marriage she didn't want. Finished pulling on her tunic and braies, she tugged her hair back, then strode to the door. "Let us go down and be sure Duncan doesna ruin things then."